I really need about ~5 apps on my phone (browser, mail, alarm, somehow whatsapp managed to become one of those, and maybe few others I don't recall now).
All other apps I download for a very specific use case:
- Rent a bike a foreign city that I'll leave again pretty soon
- Navigate during that one trip where I don't expect to be connected to the internet
- Play a game during the single train ride where my Kindle has no more battery
- Check scores during that one playday of soccer where I have no access to my usual channels (TV, Friends, Browser)
- etc
At the moment of downloading I often know for how long I will be using that app. Most of the time it is only on that single day, otherwise for the duration of a trip. I'm not sure there's too much App makers could do to keep me as a user (aside from sending me a brand-new phone). I don't really like my phone and I really prefer using my laptop or even desktop, whenever possible.